Tuesday, July 26, 2011

GENERATION X #42 - September 1998

Summary:Bianca and her dwarves spy on Generation X as they play miniature golf.When a psionic pulse hits the Astral Plane, Chamber, Emma, and Bianca are left without their psychic powers.Driving home, they come across Gaia, who crashed her car when the backlash hit.She’s aided by Chief Authier, who reveals that he’s also lost “the sight.”Later, Bianca’s spacecraft is clipped by Elsie Dee and Albert, who are passing by in a modified Blackbird.

Continuity Notes:Bianca’s dwarves used to be alien cockroaches and hate their new bodies.They’re working for Bianca in the hopes that she’ll restore their true forms.Although Bianca gained her psionic powers through “alien means,” she’s still struck by the psi-wave.Gaia, meanwhile, has used her telekinetic powers to build an alien home in Snow Valley since her previous appearance.

“Huh?” Moment:Chamber’s chest still emits energy after losing his psionic powers.If this energy wasn’t psychic in nature, what is it?And if we were to believe that his psionic powers (somehow) kept him alive after his chest was blown open, how exactly is he alive now?

Review:I’m not sure if any of the spin-offs dedicated so much time to characters merely reacting to the events of “Psi-War,” but apparently Hama felt the need to sell the premise.What’s odd is that he’s used this opportunity to reveal that two of the new characters, Bianca and Chief Authier, have psychic powers before we’ve even seen them use the powers.I actually do like the idea that Chief Authier is a mutant, apparently a low-level one who simply viewed his powers as a paranormal gift, since it shows that not every mutant has to follow the traditional X-path.I’m assuming Hama had plans for Chief Authier, but I doubt they were realized since he’s already at the end of his run.I have no idea why Bianca is getting such a slow build-up, but I do like the dynamic between her and the dwarves.When the psi-wave knocks her out, the first response of the dwarves is to kill her in her sleep, but they think better of it when they realize they might never return to their proper roach bodies without her.When Bianca realizes what happened, she proceeds to beat them mercilessly.All of this is fairly random silliness, but it livens up the mini-golf scenes and continuity work.